Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $255.00 at Oppenheimer

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Oppenheimer from $251.00 to $255.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WM. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $228.14. 2,895,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,065. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $233.03 and a 200-day moving average of $224.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after buying an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,233,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,996 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $1,009,726,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.